by Roberta Murphy I took a break from San Diego real estate this weekend and went shopping for underwear instead. I bought 30 pairs, and fear it won’t be nearly enough. You see, a very cool lady named Rocky wrote a very compelling blog, that inspired me to not only go shopping, but to start blogging for underwear–and posting up some very unprofessional photography. But that is inconsequential. Her Underwear…
Stop Identity Theft: Freeze Your Credit
by Roberta Murphy Become a victim of identity theft, and you could be in for the nightmare of a lifetime. We have known several identity theft victims. One family lost their home because of it–and another even fears for his safety. It is a vicious crime that can take years to resolve and the damages can last far longer than that. And all too often, identity thieves are never caught…
Database Consolidation: Nightmares Undressed
by Roberta Murphy Want to know what keeps me terrorized at night? Database management. I am in an urgent race against time–and my nightmare is one that haunts major corporations throughout the world– from retailers to brokerage firms to telecoms to the U.S. Government itself. In our San Diego real estate practice, I have until December 30 to migrate several hundred clients and their specific and detailed property requests over…
Luxury Home Digest Makes “Top 100 Real Estate Blogs”
by Roberta Murphy It came as a total surprise when I received an email from International Listings that Luxury Home Digest had been tapped as one of the top 8 Home Buying blogs in the country–and one of the top 100 Real Estate Blogs. WOW! I join the other winners in this category in thanking the judges at International Listings for this special real estate honor: Barbara Corcoran Ink: Barbara…
Google to Gobble GoDaddy?
by Roberta Murphy Rumors and gossip are are swirling around a possible Google and GoDaddy marriage. It seems about two years ago, Google became accredited as a domain name registrar. Meanwhile, GoDaddy, the worlds largest domain registrar, has been busy filing patent applications for search, VOIP and other technologies that would make it an attractive buy to acquisition-hungry Google. A few of GoDaddys recent patents would help propel one of…
New Real Estate Danger: Cancellation Fees
by Roberta Murphy I believe we have a new issue to negotiate on behalf of our clients: CANCELLATION FEES A couple of weeks ago we had a buyer cancel a transaction within the timeframes agreed upon by the buyer and seller. Notice of cancellation was sent out shortly after the physical inspection on the $400,000 downtown San Diego condo. It should have been a simple matter, but that was not…
50 Simple Feng Shui Tips
by Roberta Murphy I was asked to share some simple Feng Shui tips for home offices, written by Laura Milligan over at the Bootstrapper Blog. She lists 50 great ones, but I’ll tease you with a few she has listed in her article. In spite of a personal bookshelf full of Feng Shui education, I found these suggestions particularly useful in that I am currently refiguring my own home office…
Richistan Home Prices Continue to Soar
by Roberta Murphy $50 million is the new $30 million, says Glenn Roberts over at the Inman News Blog–especially when it comes to high end luxury homes. Citing a 2007 Mid-Year Luxury Report by Stribling Private Brokerage, Roberts explains how just a few years ago, even a rumor of a $30 million real estate sale in Manhattan would create big buzz. But since the sale of a $53 million property…
Mortgage Crisis and the Blame Game
by Roberta Murphy Brad Inman this morning wrote an excellent article about the mortgage and real estate crisis that has gripped so many markets in the United States–and elsewhere. In The Housing Market Blame Game, Inman reports that even formerly raging real estate markets that were once seen as unshakable, such as Manhattan, are now beginning to share the pain with regions that had collapsed earlier. Many blame the real…
Del Mar Estate Most Expensive Home in San Diego
by Eric Murphy We follow luxury listings throughout the world, and when a home listed above $50 million hits the market, it’s NEWS by any stretch of the imagination. And San Diego is just the latest to break that barrier. Priced at $76 Million, this circa 1937 oceanfront Del Mar trophy estate sits on nearly 5.5 singular acres. The two story home has nine bedrooms and six-and-a-half bathrooms and ocean…